Truth and Lie
by Sandruschka
Summary: Nora Rae Howard, daughter of Brenda and Fritz, just wants to find out the truth about her mothers death. But what if the truth is so horrible that you wish it would be a lie?


**Truth and Lie**

"Are you sure that you wanna do this?" her grandfather says and she knows his fear.

He is afraid. Very afraid, to be clear.

But she's made her decision and he knows that. And her grandmother too.

Nora Rae Howard sighs: "Please, Grandpa, don't make it so hard for me. I have to do this. I have to find out the truth. I have to close that case!"

Willie Rae lays her hand on her shoulder and smiles sadly: "Yeah, Sweetie, we know and it's okay. Go if you want to."

Nora kisses her and says: "I'm so incredibly grateful for everything you did for me. You gave me a home. Atlanta always will be my home. But...I have to go back. I have to."

- "Do what you have to do. But I want you to avoid HIM. He's not good for you."

She has expected that statement. She knows who HE is. She knows that Clay hates HIM.

He blames him and believes he is responsible for his daughter's death.

But she disagrees with him. And she knows that she would NOT avoid him.

Because HIM is her father - Fritz Howard.

But her grandfather does not need to know that for now. The only one who knows that is Willie Rae and Nora desperately hopes that she'll not tell Clay.

Cause that will ruin her plans. She has two tasks to do in L.A.: to make peace with her father and to find the killer of Brenda Leigh Johnson.

The guy who destroyed her childhood fifteen years ago...

_The day started as usual and there was nothing significant that indicated_  
_something was wrong. But through the eyes of an eight year old problems were_  
_always invisible. She remembers that her mother picked her up from school and_  
_ate an ice with her in her favorite café. The sun was shining brightly but it_  
_wasn't too hot. Nothing significant. It was like usual. They drove home. Her_  
_mother helped her with schoolwork. They watched a Disney movie. In the evening_  
_her dad came home. They had dinner like a family used to have. She went to bed_  
_and her father told her a fairytale. Something about a duck and a flower. Her_  
_mother had been called to a crime scene. But it didn't matter to Nora, she was_  
_used to it. She couldn't know that she would never see her again. Cause while_  
_she was sleeping peaceful, with her teddy bear lying next to her, someone_  
_killed her mother, Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson…_

_They found her dead body the next morning in a forest, buried but not very_  
_careful. She got shot. Two bullets. One in the brain. And one in the chest._  
_She was instantly dead. Major Crimes worked hard to find her killer…but it_  
_didn't work._

_After two weeks it had been declared as a "Cold case"._

_Nora remembers the day of her mother's funeral like it had been just two weeks_  
_ago. There had been so many people. From the LAPD. Her grandparents. All her_  
_aunts, uncles and cousins. She remembers Charlie who always had a look for_  
_her. And she remembers a woman with beautiful brown hair who made an amazing_  
_speech. She recognized her deep grief. Her eyes were red like she'd cried. The_  
_thing was just that Nora didn't know her…_

_The time after her mother's death was mysterious because she wasn't able to_  
_feel anything. She felt nothing like emptiness. She was frozen. Not able to_  
_cry. And her father…well, his world had broken down. He wallowed in_  
_self-pity, started drinking again. He didn't care about her and how she was_  
_grieving for her mother. He was always angry and aggressive Willie Rae and_  
_Clay Johnson realized that Fritz wasn't able to take care for her. They were_  
_very determined to get the custody for their granddaughter – successfully._  
_So the little girl moved to Atlanta. Nora is thankful for that because of the_  
_great time she spent here. Here are all her friends. Here she made her exams._  
_Here she found her first love. If somebody would ask her where she comes from,_  
_she would answer: "From Atlanta." For many years Los Angeles had been just a_  
_dark memory._

It's not easy to go back but she has to do it. For her mother. For herself.

Nora takes a deep breath before she turns around, searching for the right  
gate. She looks at her watch: her flight goes in less than one hour. "Okay  
Miss Howard, you'll make it. It's going to be okay. Positive."

But she's scared to death.


End file.
